Why I can't care about the IRS "scandal"
Trying to understand the IRS scandal.
Certain social welfare organizations involved in the anti-tax movement filed for special tax status. Several (possibly 2) employees asked for evidence to verify this status. Part of the status is that these groups primary activity not be politically oriented(endorsing partisan candidates). The individuals were then alleged to be bias because these anti-tax groups ARE oriented with conservative (Republican) causes. (not all groups were screen but apparently most anti-tax groups). Seeing a potential bias their manager made them change the process by which they review applications. It is hard to claim there was no bias, but a bias against a certain form of social welfare. It could only be a political bias if they were a political organization...
Now Republicans are mad because they claim their base support groups have been unfairly and potentially illegally attacked by the IRS. But wait these groups are social welfare groups, their primary activity CAN'T be political. In other words these organization can't be Republican. Indeed an anti-tax group might be neutral, liberal, libertarian etc... So this could hardly be an attack against conservative based groups. Unless... these groups aren't social welfare groups at all but really shell political organizations. How would an IRS employee know this unless they asked for proof, proof that could be positive or negative to that affect (since apparently they all got the status we can conclude the IRS doesn't see them as political leaning organizations). But wait anyone remotely following politics the past 5 years knows this IS TRUE. They are shell political organizations! The manager clearly knew this already hence the worry of the appearance of a conflict or political bias in their employees actions. But wait if we all know this is true, why are these organizations allowed to and are generally accepted for these special tax status. Every Republican that can get near a mic is telling me THESE ARE CONSERVATIVE REPUBLICAN ORGANIZATIONS. WTF?
Of course organizations that people generally consider liberal or Democratic groups apply for status too. Previously liberals have claimed similar fouls in the past by the IRS. I imagine the NAACP however doesn't consider itself a democratic institution, nor does green peace or any of these other "liberal" organizations. But we all "know" which way they lean. All of which makes one wonder, "Why the * is the tax law written in a way such that they create a special tax status which is based on something that if a worker asks it to be verified, they have create a question that puts their job at risk.... the employee of the IRS is in a no win situation. Even if they expanded to include all applications, the application pool might be bias (more conservative groups than liberal)... Even if the process is not intentionally bias, political groups are always going to claim bias if you start asking and denying applications. That's just good politics. More to the point social welfare seems so ill defined that organizations everyone is claiming ARE political organizations pass the screening process hands down.
I know people's heads will roll for this scandal. I know the democratic president is outraged. I know republican leaning house of representatives is outraged. But it can't MAKE me care. The whole situation is laughable and points to policies about tax status that are impossible to enforce. A tax policy created by the very politicians that claim to be outraged.
= new reply since forum marked as read
